Gelli Print Blog Hop Inspiration Card Giveaway

Hopefully you’ve been checking out the posts daily for the Gelli Print Blog Hop. For my post I am going to show you step by step how to alter playing cards with gelatin prints to create fun mixed media Inspiration Cards. You can WIN these cards in my giveaway, but you do have to take a few action steps to get entered:

2. Leave a comment below. I’m trying to improve my tutorial ability so if you want to mention something that could have been improved, or that was helpful that would be cool.

3. Share this post using one of the handy buttons provided. Pop it on Pinterest, share it to your FB page, or add it to your Twitter feed.

Now…on to that tutorial. I really love making Inspiration Art cards and I love pulling gelatin prints, so the two met for me and created something beautiful. I hope you’ll agree after checking out my tutorial:

Step One: First off, you need to have some playing cards around. These are some I chose from a Bicycle deck that I picked up at the local dollar store. New playing cards create a better base than old used ones, but if that’s what you have – use them. The process is the same and I do often recycle old cards into new art.

Step Two: Next you will want to gather gelatin prints that you like as backgrounds. I pulled together some from my 3” x 5” Gelli Plate. Index card sized prints work great for altering playing card decks into ATC sized works of art and inspiration.

Step Three: Get a glue stick, I like the Avery ones from Staples, and adhere the gelatin prints to the playing cards. You want to make sure to press down the edges. This is key. If you don’t get the edges stuck well, the card can buckle or pull apart and rip over time. Since you are hoping people will enjoy and hold these little pieces of joy found in their hands you want to make them sturdy. Using a bone folder or a brayer to further flatten and ensure the stick between card surface and gelatin print is a good idea, but a firm hand works too. I typically glue to the face of the card, because the pattern backs finish the flipside nicely and leave a nice space for contact information later.

Step Four: Once you have the cards all secure, you need to get some scissors and trim the excess off. The ones I use are by HDX and were a cheap set I picked up with 5 or 6 other pairs in a blister pack at Home Depot. You don’t have to strive for perfection here, but you do want to keep it close to the original shape of the card including the rounded edges, so just do the best you can. I cut looking at the back of the index card because it is easy to see exactly where I am cutting compared to the print that isn’t glued on.

Step Five: Keep the scrap pile. I have a scrap box. Even those tiny little pieces can be used later for fun collage projects. In fact, we will be revisiting this pile of scraps in a future post so you can see that even the tiniest bits you might be compelled to throw away can actually create something beautiful. So, store those bits and pieces for future use.

Step Six: Your cards should now look something like this. They are ready for embellishing with text. You can use a sealant in between like Krylon Spray, or Mod Podge if you like, but these prints were pulled with acrylics and rolled with a brayer, so they have a nice flat surface for me to work with.

Step Seven: Now you need to gather your glue stick, your scissors, and some text. I used a copy of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, because I have several and it was handy. You can use text from books, magazines, or print it off on your computer. I like using book pages and cutting out the words that jump at me to create positive affirmations, action steps, inspiring quotes, or sometimes even one word power cards. Once you’ve found the words you want, you need to stick them onto the cards, and I also chose to do some embellishments with my Fiskar’s gelly pens. Unfortunately I chose metallic which are hard to photo well. At this point you can choose to coat your work, or leave it as is. Mine is secure, so I left them as is. I prefer avoiding extra coats of chemicals where possible.

Step Eight: You can add contact information to the back of your cards by pen, ink, paint, or print off some labels on your computer. You can also leave them blank. Then you give them away like I am here, hand them to a pal, or leave them as acts of kindness in art abandonment. They also make fun gift tags.

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway. You could win these 12 altered inspiration cards made with gelli prints. I will select a winner of this mini deck of gelli print inspiration art cards after the blog hop is through on October 23. I’ll notify the winner on the blog, so be sure to check back on the 23rd to see if you’ve won.

If this post inspired you to try your hand at making your own inspiration art cards with gelatin prints, I created a group called Positively Gellin’ on Facebook and am hosting a full 52 card Inspiration Art Card Deck there. So, come on over and check us out. We also do monthly postcard swaps with gelatin prints.

I also want to thank Michelle Reynolds for inviting me to the Gelli Print Blog Hop, and the folks over at Gelatin Printing Enthusiasts on Facebook for continually inspiring me to do more with my gelli arts. Be sure to check out the rest of the artists participating in the Gelli Print Blog Hop – lots of exciting imagery, visual stimulation, how to articles and freebies for your delight.

Oh, the things you can do…booklets, book marks, gift tags, ornaments, collage, inspiration cards. Vicki, I love my gelli plate so much that I’ve started seeing everything filtered through the question of whether not I can cover it in gelli prints!

My kids have managed to lose bit and pieces of so many card games, I’m REALLY glad I hung on to the ones left. I think I’m going to use them to make my holiday gift tags this year. I love the idea of re-purposing something into art, thanks so much for sharing!

I am experimenting with using gelli prints on tile pieces from card games for wearable arts too NerdyOwlCreates. So, be sure to check back and you may find some more fun repurposing ideas for your gelatin prints!

I have used playing cards in lieu of Trading Cards but I never thought of using them with my Gelli prints. Such a great idea. Love your leaf prints on playing cards. You rally focus on the leaf”s pattern. Great job. I will have to try this.

I can’t think of anything you need to do to improve this tutorial, except I’d have liked to have seen a close up photo of a card or two. Thanks for the tutorial, I’m looking forward to using some of my prints like this. And as for a use for all the leftover scraps, I can’t begin to imagine!